Bear with me for a moment while I venture outside stateside baseball for a look at a marvelous moment in Korean pro ball. The always great Ben Badler of Baseball America brought this clip to my attention this past Wednesday, and you really gotta give this one a look. Outfielder Jun-Woo Jeon is the batter. His team is down two runs with a runner on first and one out in the bottom of the ninth. He recognizes the fat breaker, turns on it, and lifts it to left field. He thinks it’s gone and the game tied, so he flips his bat triumphantly and does one of those cool jogging finger points toward his dugout. It’s not gone. No, the ball dies at the track, and not long after, the opposition dies of laughter. This is why you never bat flip. #Scouting.

Jake Odorizzi | RHP, Rays — It looks like Odorizzi will fill the gap in Tampa’s rotation and start for the Rays on Monday. The 23-year-old is coming off of his worst outing of the year, which is a tad concerning, but he has simply shown more polish this season than either Chris Archer or Alex Colome. Odorizzi brings some upside to the fantasy game, and he’s not a bad scoop if you have room.

Zack Wheeler | RHP, Mets — A sore clavicle lands Wheeler on the DL, but the injury shouldn’t throw him off course. I still expect to see him pitching at Citi Field before July.

George Springer | OF, Astros — Springer leads Minor League Baseball with 13 homers. The 23-year-old is batting .308/.396/.650 through 38 games at Double-A Corpus Christi, and he looks a lot like this year’s version of Wil Myers. There’ll be a lot of buzz surrounding Springer as he pushes through to Triple-A, but don’t expect to see him in Houston ’til next Summer.

Oscar Taveras | OF, Cardinals — Taveras was really starting to heat up before an ankle injury last weekend. He’s listed as day-to-day, but he hasn’t seen game action since the injury.

Archie Bradley | RHP, D’Backs — I mentioned last week that Bradley was pulled from a start after tweaking his knee on the base paths. Well, the 20-year-old returned to action earlier in the week, whiffing 9 while allowing only 2 hits through 6 IP. Bradley is striking out Double-A batters at a rate of 12.9 per-nine, and his ERA reads 0.64. If this sort of dominance continues, 2013 arrival is a very real possibility.

Byron Buxton | OF, Twins —Here’s a video of Buxton hitting a walk off grand slam on Thursday. The 19-year-old is batting .331/.436/.574 with 6 HR and 16 SB through 39 games at Low-A Cedar Rapids. He’s really damn good.

Jorge Bonifacio | OF, Royals — One of the best pure hitters in the minors, Bonifacio was batting .325/.404/.452 at High-A Wilmington before breaking his hand this past week. The 19-year-old will miss a couple months.

Taijuan Walker | RHP, Mariners — Walker features perhaps the most impressive tools profile of any pitcher in Minor League Baseball. Seattle challenged him with an aggressive Double-A assignment in 2012, and at only age 19, Walker had his ups and downs. He’s back at Double-A in 2013, but there haven’t been too many downs this year — Walker has found consistency and M’s fans must be thrilled. With a 2.09 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a K/9 at 9.9, he’s not far from a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma.

David Dahl | OF, Rockies — After an awesome debut season in 2012, Dahl’s development has stalled in 2013. First, he was held off the field for disciplinary reasons. Now, a hamstring injury will put him on the shelf for 2-3 months.

Rafael De Paula | RHP, Yankees — De Paula’s filthy fastball-changeup combo now has him at a 2.75 ERA and a 15.8 K/9 (!!!) through 8 starts at Low-A Charleston. I think it’s safe to promote him to High-A, Yankees.

Yordano Ventura | RHP, Royals — With a 1.79 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP, and a 12.5 K/9 through 8 starts at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Ventura has been one of the more impressive starting pitchers in the upper minors this season. Durability has always been the concern with him though, so perhaps it’s too soon to make a big fuss over the awesome start. The 21-year-old features one of the best fastballs in MiLB — that’s no secret. But at 5-11, 180, will his frame allow his stuff to hold up over a full workload? We shall see…

I picked up George Springer the other day when I read a couple of blogs speculating that the Astros are waiting to avoid super two status and that he should be up in mid June. How convinced are you that they (rotoinfo) are wrong? Would you drop springer in a 20 team league?

The rumors don’t surprise me, and it’s a possibility, sure. But I really don’t expect the Astros to be starting his clock until they’re a little closer to contention. If you can afford to stash him for another couple weeks, we might be able to get more clarity on the situation — my opinion here is only speculative.

Was expecting bigger things from him in the Cali league, but I’m hearing his swing is a mess right now & his confidence in nonexistent. This sort of thing can often be corrected, so I’m not quitting on him, but it’s a discouraging start…

In my dynasty league I have Trevor May on my minor league roster. He has some pornographic strike out totals. That said, in his second go around at AA ball he’s still sporting a chubby WHIP and BB/9. You think he’s still stash worthy? Should I be concerned?

Also, Justin Nicolino is another pitcher I have stashed on my minor league roster. He’s pin-point control isn’t as pin-point at the high A level, plus his SO/9 has plummeted. However, his BB/9 is still about the same. Same question, is he stash worthy and should I be concerned?

Credit to AthleicsFarm.com
“First baseman Anthony Aliotti had a monster night for (AA) Midland on Saturday, clubbing 3 home runs and a double while driving in 8 runs. Aliotti now leads all A’s minor leaguers with 59 hits, a .376 batting average, a .476 on-base percentage and a .592 slugging percentage. And if Daric Barton doesn’t clear waivers and end up back at Sacramento, it might finally be time for the A’s to give Aliotti a shot to show what he can do in Triple-A.”

Trade help please. Long term keeper.. I trade machado $1 sale $2 revere $2 Tavares and Dahl for trout $1 yu $28 cain and scutaro.. I have to make the trade for trout right? I have a crowded outfueld so I am hesitant. And I love me some Tavares. Am I an idiot for not pulling the trigger already? Thanks

@Nick: @Nick: I’m in NY & rain is bad…Yanks & Dickey is POSTPONED! So now I have;

Bailey
Tillman
Wood

So do I bench any of these guys who might inflate my ERA/WHIP? I’m a diehard Met fan who just returned from Chi-Town for work and loved the city, but I think a few of the Mets are clicking (Wright & Murphy) and may impact Wood’s WHIP, not so much ERA, unless Wright homers again!

Thoughts? Games start at 1:30 EST (20min), hopefully you see this & THANKS as always

Not sure I understand this reply, is he saying depaula is the only one that should be getting talked about? And also what are your thoughts on depaula? What’s a reasonable timeline for him and is he a must add for dynasty? Plenty of milb guys still out there in this lge though due to some teams sitting on their hands. For example yordano was just added last week instead of during this years draft.

RDP is clearly a Yankees fan with a severe prospect-crush on De Paula. He’s not crazy for being excited — De Paula has been absolutely filthy. But his stuff is clearly too advanced for Low-A… he needs to be tested at High-A soon & perhaps the upper levels before long. Huge potential, especially if he can develop another plus offspeed offering.

Have Tony C. And now don’t know what to do. It’s a keeper league but can’t afford to waste a spot. You think he will be up again this year? If not who is the next SP coming up to grab? I have the 1st waiver pick up.

In a dynasty league, would you trade Medlen for Adam Eaton? How high are you on him as a fantasy player? Asa,ways, keep up the awesome work. I look forward to your insight and passion for these minor league reports.

Looks like Profar is getting called up Scott. What do you think we see from him? Obviously if he comes up, and Kinsler goes on the DL, they’re gonna play him. Do you think he does enough to force his way up for good? Any chance of that?

How do you think the Astros handle Singleton callup with him coming off suspension soon? They’ve shown willingness to bring up prospects quick but also have Carter and Pena… Suppose Carter could move back to OF.

What do you think, is he up for good now? And what do you expect his production to be this year. I’ll be calling him up next year from my farm, and so long as hes got a regular job then ill be happy. Still gonna keep an eye out on him this year.

Someone mentioned it up above… I think… In any case, I doubt they keep him up once Kinsler’s back. But I’ve had a hard time staying on the same page as Texas with their roster management, so wouldn’t surprise me if he stays up.

@Scott Evans: yill I thought it would be an earth-shattering news even once he got called up. This guy is the no1 prospect around after all! I dont like what the Rangers have done with their young bats either, so im crossing my fingers abd toes that they keep him up and make a spot for him this time.

Scott, Yelich was just dropped in my dynasty league…
I do need OF help pretty bad, but the season is still young. Is he a must add?
I’d be dropping Adam Dunn now, and then C Hart to hold on to him once Hart’s off the DL.

I just wanted to know if any of these guys are not worth having? it’s pretty tough finding better prospects, but any guys that would be worth picking up that you think people would be looking over?
Thanks, plus you do some awesome work. Keep it up!